Top-notch for umbrellas.



W. E. MOULTON.

- TOP NOTGH FOR UMBRELLAS.

APPLICATION FILED ms. 28. 1908.

' Patented Nov. 1?, 1908.

amen? WALTER E, MOULTON, or PLAIN CITY, onto.

TOP-ENOTGH FOR UMIBBELLAS.

Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed February 28, 1908. Serial No. 418,349.

Patented Nov. 17, 1908.

To all whom it may Be it known that I, WALTER E. MoULToN,

a citizen of the United States, residing at Plain City, in the county of Madison and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Top-Notches for Umbrellas, of which the following is a specification.

. My present invention pertains to improvements in top-notches for umbrellas, the construction and advantages of which will be hereinafter set forth, reference being had to the annexed drawings, wherein: Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional vie of an umbrella-staff or stick, with the topnotch applied thereto;' Fig. 2 a side elevation of the top-notch, a portion. of the staff and several of the ribs; Fig. 3 is a sectional view, taken on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a side elevation showing the movable member of the notch so arranged with relation to the fixed member that a rib. may be removed or inserted;- Fig. 5 a transverse sectional view, on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4; Fig. 6a similar View, on the line 66 of Fig. 4; and Fig. 7 a perspective view of the spring employed to hold the movable member against rotation when the parts are in one position and to support the movable member but permit its rotation with reference to the fixed member and the staff when it is desired to remove or insert a rib.

The main object of the present invention is to provide a' simple and efiicient top-notch,

in which a rib may be inserted or removed without the necessity of taking oil the bover and the finishing or rain cap usually employed to hold the cover in position.

A further object of the invention is to Su construct the top-notch that the movable member thereof may be removed bodily from the fixed member, thereby permitting all of the ribs to be taken out; or it may be rotated about the stafi'and beneath the-fixed A still fHrtherobject of theinventionis to provide a spring of special form .which lwhich the rib is removed.

will normally old the movable member in its elevated position but ermit rotation thereof about the staff, so t at a partieg lar rib may be brought into alinement' with a slot formed in the fixed member-5 and through With these and other objects in view, a description of the invention will now be given In thedrawings, A denotes the stall", preferably formed as a hollow metallic tube and having secured thereto, by means of a rivet B, the fixed member of the retainer, formed with a sleeve or collar portion C and a body portion D, which extends outwardly at the lower end ofthe collar 0. Th'eupper face of the body portion, as will be seen upon reference to Flgs. 1, 2 and 4;, is curved down-- wardly so as to form a fairfbearing for the cover and the rain or finishing cap,"which are secured in place thereon, but which are not shown in the drawings, as. they form no part of the prcsent inventio A slot Efis provided in the body portion of the fixed member, the slot being of sufficient size to permit the headedend F of one of the ribs G to be passed therethrough. The body portion will likewise be made of such thickness that when the head F is introducedinto the slot E it will not be necessary to remove the cover in order to permit'its entrance.

Mounted upon the stafi below the fixed member is a second member, having asleeve portion H and a body portion I, the latter being provided with a series of verticallydisposed slots J. Adjacent to the inner portions of the slots are formed seats or sockets to receive the heads F of the-ribs. A slot K is formed in the lower end of the sleeve H,

said slot, when the parts are in their normal positions, receiving the shouldered portion- L formed upon the upper or headed endof a" spring M. Said spring, as will be noted, is provided with a tongue or upward extension N which, when the parts .are in their normal v tends-into a slot 0 formed in the stall, the shouldered portion or head of the spring passing through, the slot and through slot K position, or that shown in Figs. 1 and2, 'ex

ust referred to. The head is likewise pro vided with a second shoulder P, located at a point below the shoulder L which,- when the spring is moved inwardlyior to-the position shown in Figs. 4 and 6, passes beneath the lower edge of the sleeve H and sustains the movable member of the notch, while permit ting rotation of said member with reference to the stafl and the fixed upper member of the top-notch. The spring M .is-ralso provided at a point adjacent" to its lower end it always extends into thc""'slot-. ,Thus, for

of the head stands within the slot.

instance, when the spring is pushed back and; the shoulder P stands beneath the lower .end of the sleeve H, the head of the spring,

or that portion below the shoulder P still extends through the slot 0, as shown in F 4,

and the spring is thus held against any twisting movement. If it be desired to'lower the mrr-F'eble member, it is necessary to push the springinward, so that the lower portion It will still, however, have a bearing in the slot 0 and is thus prevented from becoming displaced. It is not necessary, withthe spring shown, that a hole be bored in the tube to members of the top-notch, thussaving con-' 1 ,siderable expense and also afford ng a smooth .50

receive the lower end of the spring, nor to pass a rivet through the springin order to hold it in position. In case it should be de si red to'remove one of the ribs, the spring is y pushed inwardly until'the shoulder P'stands beneath the lower edge or in line with the lower edge of the sleeve portion H. The

stafi and the fixed member of thetop-notch or retainer may then be rotated with reference to the movable member; or, by holding the staff rigid and taking hold of the ribs, the movable member with the ribs may be rdtated about the staff until such time as the paiiticular rib which it is desired to remove standsjin'alinement with the slot E. By then elevating the rib-end the head F will pass into the slot E and may be withdrawn therefrom, to be repaired or replaced by a new rib. As before noted,it is not necessary to remove the finishing cap or cover in order to effect the removal of the ribs. In fact,

the! cover need not be disturbed at all, which;

This construction does away with the necessity of slotting both the upper and lower surface upon which the cover may bear.

y reason of the fact that the upper member presents an unbroken surface, except for i the single opening or notch IE, it acts to keep th water from passing into the bearings for t e rib-ends. Furthermore, by having the slot for the removal of theribs formed in the upper member, the structure in no sense weakened while, as above, noted, it is necessary to slot but one member only.

, Having thus described my invention, what I claim isi 1. In combination with an umbrella-staff.

a member-fined 'thereto,-- said member presenting a substantially unbroken face except for a slot .or opening, formed in i'ts side of a ed upon the staff beneath the fixed member,

said secondmember being provided with a series of radially-disposed slots adapted and designed to receive heads formed upon the ends of; the ribs; and a spring mounted within the staff, said spring projecting outwardly beneath the movable member and serving to hold the same in an elevated position. i

2.' In combination with an umbrella-start, a memberafixed thereto, said member being provided with an outwardly projecting, downwardly-inchned substantially unbroken face, and having a notch or recess formed in the edgethereof, the body of the member being of such, dimensions as to permit a ribend to be introduced into and withdrawn from said notch without affecting the cover which normally rests upon the inclined face; a second member mounted upon the stalf below the fixed member, said second member being provided with a series of radially-disposed slots and sockets formed in the inner portions of the slots to receive theheaded "of radially-disposed slots and sockets formed in the inner portions of said slots to receive the rib-end's; anda spring mounted within the staii said spring being prov ded with a head having two outwardly projecting shoulders, said head and. shoulders passing through a slot formed in the staif and the uppershouldered portion passing into a slot formed in the lower portion of the movable member and serving, when thus positioned, to hold the movable member in its elevated position and against rotary movement. f v

' 4c. Incombinationwith anumbrella-stafi, amember fixed thereto, said member. being provided with an omtwardly extending,

downwardly-inclined upper face which is substantially continuous throughout, and with a notch or recess formed in its edge, said notchbeing ofa depth SllffiClGHt to per.-

mit a rib-end to be introduced into and withdrawn therefrom; a second? member mounted upon the stafi' below the fixed mem her, said second member being provided with a series of radially-disposed slots and sockets formed to receive the ends of the ribs, and with a notch inits lower edge, said notch being out of alinement with the adjacent radially-disposed slots; and a spring mounted within the stafl and provided with a head which normally projects through a slot formed in the stall, the slot being in alinement with the notch or recess formed in the fixed member, said spring likewise being provided with a head which projects into thenotch formed in the lower portion of the second member and-thereby holds the same in itselevated position and against rotation,

with its radially-disposed slots out of aline-- ment with the notch or recess formed in the fixed member.

In combination with an umbre la-stafi, a member fixed thereto, said member being provided with a notch or recess in its edge to permit the entrance and withdrawal of a rib-end the upper face of's'aid member being otherwise unbroken; a second member mounted upon the staff below the fixedmemher, said second member being provided with a series of radially-disposed slots and sockets formed in the inner portions thereof to receive the rib-ends, and being likewise provided with a notch in its lower edge; and

a spring mounted within the staff, said spring being provided with a head MlJElCQIlt to lts upper end and with a tongue extending from saidhead, said tongue and head normally projecting into a slot formed in the staff, the headed vportion of the spring being provided with two shoulders extending outwardly therefrom in different horizontal planes, the uppermost shoulder standing normally in the notch in the lower portion of the second or movable member and serving to hold said ,member against rotation and downward movement, and the second shoulder serving, when the spring is pushed inwardly, to bear against the under face of the movable member and prevent its downward movement while permitting rotation of said member about the stafl', whereby a member fixed thereto, said member pre senting a substantially unbroken upper face and being provided with a notch or recess in its outer edge, the body of the member being of suiiicient depth to permit the posi tioning of a rib-end in. the notch without projecting above the upper face of the member; a' second member mounted upon the staff below the fixed member, said second member being provided with a series of radially-disposed slots and sockets formed in the inner portions thereof to receive the rib-ends, and likewise provided with a notch or recess in its lower edge; a spring mounted within the staff, said spring being. curved or bow-shaped and having an ear projecting outwardly therefrom adjacent to its lower end and adapted to bear upon the wall of the staff opposite that against which the lower end bears; a head formed upon the spring; and a tongue extending upwardly from the head, said tongue and head normally passing into a slot formed inthe staff and the head having two outwardly-projecting shouldered portions, the upper shouldered portion normally standing in the notch or recess formed in the lower portion of the movable member, and holding the same in its elevated position and against rotation, while the second outwardlyextending shouldered portion serves, when the spring ismoved inwardly to a slight extent, to bear against the under face of the movable member and' to hold it against downward movement, while permitting rotation thereof'about the staff.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses. I

' WALTER E. MOULTON.

Witnesses:

ETHEL A, RioKARn, C. It. BAKER. 

